Wakkanai

«Wakkanai» — a graphic novel about the northernmost city in Japan. The last before Sakhalin, it remains one of the few places where you can still encounter Cyrillic and hear the Russian language. Until 2020, Wakkanai and Sakhalin were connected by a ferry, and there were relationships and cultural exchanges. Now, none of this remains, but life continues in the city. Reindeers roam the streets, bears appear occasionally, and the Russian language, like the Cyrillic signs, is preserved only in the memory of the city, its houses, and its residents.
The graphic novel by Maxim Chumin and Katya Brovkina examines memory as an artistic material, turning Wakkanai into the main character. The cinematic narrative is built on the interaction between graphics and watercolor: one layer captures reality, while the other reveals imagination. Through fragments of signs, streets, and creating stories about the city and its people, the authors explore how a place becomes an image, and how fantasy transforms into memory.